Safety Signs Blog

Fragile roof signs Recommended for all roof types!

10th December 2010 | Warning Signs

Posted by David Arnold.

Having worked in the industry for years, this author was recently approached by a school who were looking for a company that would sell them three large fragile roof signs. Having pointed this School Secretary in the direction of an extremely reputable safety signs manufacturer (SafetySignSupplies.co.uk!) my concern immediately turned to the school that my children could well end up going to having a fragile and unstable roof. The response to this was not quite what I expected:

“Don’t be silly. With the number of kids that find their way up there over the summer holidays we would probably be closed down if it really was fragile. Truth is you could probably have a game a football up there with the only danger being for the poor kid that has got to take corners or throw ins!”

So if trespassing on to the roof is an issue, why are the school installing fragile roof signs? The school Secretary went on to point out that: …….

No unauthorised access signs are a challenge to the kids. After all, most of us know the more you tell a child he or she is not allowed to do something the more they want to do it!

CCTV cameras in operation also feels like a challenge….and if the child cannot see the camera they will also be disbelieving and ultimately ignore the sign anyway.

But ‘Fragile roof’ - that is a different matter! In this instance the school is not saying you cannot go up there. But what the sign is suggesting is if you do go up there then on your head be it (possibly quite literally!). If the roof does give way it is going to hurt. Also, if you are seriously hurt you may not be able to run away quickly, meaning you could also get in serious trouble and possibly even be taken to court for trespassing or worse, criminal damage.

So, with there being a negligible chance of the roof collapsing in this example, the fragile roof sign is not being used to protect the school post-incident should the ceiling give way. In this instance, the warning sign is a well thought through deterrent to any child going up there in the first place.

As a footnote to this slightly off-the-wall (or roof!) article it is perhaps important to note that for this warning sign to be an effective deterrent the sign must be both hard wearing and visible. As such, as it is for outside use the fragile roof sign should be bought in rigid plastic or foamex, and it should be large enough to be visible from the ground. As a 600x200mm sign can be seen from 27 metre away in good light, this size was recommended as it is ideal for installing near the roof itself, well out of the way of any child wishing to knock it off!